Daimler Trademark Infringement Action | Federal Counterfeit Lawsuit

Daimler (Daimler Truck AG, Daimler Truck North America LLC, Thomas Built Buses, Inc., and Detroit Diesel Corporation) has filed a federal counterfeit lawsuit against e-commerce operators! 

After receiving notice that Daimler has named your business in the lawsuit, what are you to do? The news of a trademark infringement lawsuit can often thrust online sellers into a spiral of frustration, worry, and confusion. Stockman & Poropat, PLLC is here to address just that! Our team doesn’t want to see any affected seller feel as though all is for naught. We encourage the Defendants to explore the full range of their legal options. At the end of the day, we’d like to work to help save you both money and time! And the journey all begins with a consultation and the development of a legal strategy. 

Here’s what can be so truly frustrating about Schedule A trademark infringement lawsuits… Daimler makes several allegations, claiming intellectual property infringement, and a list of sellers are all (in a sense) uniformly impacted by those allegations. The lawsuit’s filing means that until the Plaintiff’s claims are reviewed in the context of the court, the Defendants are waiting in the balance. At the same time, every Defendant is their own entity with individual details and histories. It’s the actuality of your business and its dealings that’s of concern, not strictly the allegations put forward by Daimler. By retaining an IP attorney, you’ll empower your business to protect itself to the maximum in response to the Daimler lawsuit!  

Daimler’s Allegations of Trademark Infringement

The following excerpts represent a cross-section of the Daimler trademark infringement lawsuit’s allegations of counterfeit:

On information and belief, Plaintiff has not licensed or authorized Defendants to use any of the DAIMLER Trademarks, and none of the Defendants are authorized retailers of genuine DAIMLER Products. 

Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using one or more of the DAIMLER Trademarks without authorization within the content, text, and/or meta-tags of their e- commerce stores to attract various search engines crawling the Internet looking for websites relevant to consumer searches for Daimler Products. Other e-commerce stores operating under Seller Aliases omit using DAIMLER Trademarks in the item title to evade enforcement efforts while using strategic item titles and descriptions that will trigger their listings when consumers are searching for Daimler Products. 

Defendants’ unauthorized use of the DAIMLER Trademarks in connection with the advertising, distribution, offering for sale, and sale of Counterfeit Products, including the sale of Counterfeit Products into the United States, including Illinois, is likely to cause and has caused confusion, mistake, and deception by and among consumers and is irreparably harming Plaintiffs. 

You’re likely wondering about what the effect of the Daimler trademark suit will look like, in practical terms. If you’re not familiar with the Schedule A trademark infringement narrative, we’re happy to shed some light! To distill the details down for a moment – we can say that the lawsuit will more than likely result in a temporary restraining order. Daimler is a robust company with a serious revenue stream and major influence in the consumer space. The company has claimed that the collective actions of the Defendants have cost them resources. Not exclusively that, either, as Daimler also asserts that the alleged counterfeiting has hurt the brand’s reputation. 

Daimler’s Claims of Counterfeiting Aren’t Set in Stone…

Is what Daimler says gospel or set in stone just because they’re a big company with lots of money and a legal team? Not necessarily! Allegations are not the same as definitive proof. Even so, the restraining order that’ll be approved by the court can harm your business. That’s the difficulty with these sorts of lawsuits. Based on allegations alone, due to the severity of the accusations, the named sellers are in totality affected by the injunction. Which is why working with our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC will benefit your e-commerce operation! We know how to use the factual details of your operation to address the as-of-yet unconfirmed allegations made by Daimler. 

Because the temporary restraining order will freeze your seller accounts, money in those accounts will become inaccessible. If you’re considering the possibility of reaching a direct settlement with Daimler instead of using an attorney, know the following. The majority of settlements between sellers and Plaintiffs in these cases results in the Defendant losing out. It’s been reported that sellers are to expect to get 60% of their frozen seller account money when they take this route. Perhaps that works for you. But, we don’t foresee that sounding too amenable for most of the affected sellers. Stockman & Poropat, PLLC wants to assist you with getting the resolution you deserve.   

Stockman & Poropat, PLLC Can Create a Legal Strategy for YOU!

As with any Schedule A trademark infringement lawsuit, sellers must respond to Daimler. While not having access, even temporarily, to your money may be frustrating, don’t let it cloud your judgment. The Daimler counterfeit lawsuit will not resolve itself or evaporate into thin air because you turned your back on it. No response to the lawsuit gives the court a reason to issue a Default Judgment against you – which makes things even more complicated! Retain one of our attorneys, and you can respond, strategize, negotiate, and move forward toward great e-commerce success.

Contact our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today for a free initial consultation! 

Download the legal complaint below:

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